10

ROME

To be honest, I was not entirely thinking straight. I had no plan to invite her to my house or ask her to bring the files when I could have just asked Zee to take them from her. But clearly, I was stupid. Stupid enough that I cooked for our meal and enjoyed it with her.

There was something about Carly that I couldn’t let go of. I was like drawn to her like a magnet every time we were in the same room together. Despite her holding something up and saying that her secrets were not any of my business, I was looking forward to seeing her today.

And I was glad that she came over.

An hour later, the rain had not stopped. I joined her in the living room. She was watching an animal docu on Netflix until she just dozed off.

I lowered the volume and went to take a blanket. I covered her with it before I grabbed the files she put on the coffee table. I placed a pillow cushion under her head, and she stirred, which made me freeze. She then breathed evenly and went back to sleep.

When the tem